BOOK REVIEW:

Night of the living Trekkies

What if zombies overran a Star Trek convention? Would the attendees’ devotion to the franchise, and possible familiarity with the science fiction genre, give them an advantage over non-fans in surviving a zombie attack? This humorous and enjoyable question is answered in Kevin David Anderson's and Sam Stall’s Night of the Living Trekkies.

Jim Pike (yes, this pun should give you an idea of the tone of the book), was a life-long, devoted Star Trek fan, until a skirmish during his second tour of duty in Iraq had deadly repercussions for his team. That deadly encounter has shaken Pike’s faith in humanity, and more importantly in himself. Seeking to rid himself of as much responsibility as possible, Pike has been working as the Assistant Manager of the Botany Bay Hotel and Conference Center in downtown Houston (remember, you were warned about the puns). While the job isn’t challenging, Pike justifies this by telling himself, and others, that no one can/will get hurt as a result of the decisions he makes. And this appears to be true--until GulfCon, the world’s largest Star Trek-only science fiction convention, books the Botany Bay Hotel for its annual gathering. Now strange things are happening in the Botany Bay Hotel. People are dying, and the dead are rising and attacking. The streets surrounding the hotel are full of the reanimated dead. For a small group of fans attending the convention, Jim Pike, with his military training, plus their combined knowledge of Star Trek and science fiction, may provide their only chance to survive...

Night of the Living Trekkies' plot is surprisingly solid for this type of parody, and the situations are both somewhat believable, in a Murphy’s law kind of way, and also rife with humor. Add to this a never-ending stream of sci-fi franchise-based puns and chapter titles, plus the retro pulp fiction style of the cover, and Night of the Living Trekkies is about as much fun as a Trekkie could ever hope to have while encountering a zombie!

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